Snow Days
by liketolaugh
Summary: The first meeting of the Host Club - before it was the Host Club. Little!Host Club
1. Snowgiant

**A/N: My first Ouran High School Host Club story! YAY! Is it sad that my first story for this fandom is Little!Characters? Because I kind of think so. Oh, well. I really hope you like it! I haven't seen very many little!host club stories... or any... Anyway, Haruhi is seven.**

**Title: Snow Days**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship**

**Warnings: Unlikely circumstances**

**Summary:**** The Host Club's first meeting - before it was the Host Club.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Ryoji clapped his hands together and beamed. "Haruhi!"

Haruhi glanced up at her father, whose face was lightly covered with makeup. This was a relatively recent development, but Haruhi found she didn't really mind. "Yes?"

"We're going to the park today! Doesn't that sound fun?"

Haruhi looked from her father, who appeared excited at the prospect of father-daughter bonding, to outside, which was snowing very slushily. "No," she replied bluntly. Ryoji deflated.

They went to the park anyway.

Of course, Ryoji's bonding plan still managed to go down the drain. Almost as soon as they got to the park – where it was still snowing, though it was now more fluffy than slushy – Ryoji was distracted by a friend of his from the trannie bar, who dragged him off.

Haruhi, though, now that she was here anyway, was perfectly content to wander the park alone. This, sadly, was also not to be.

_Sniffle. Sniffle._

Haruhi frowned. "Huh?" She peeked around the corner to find a blond-haired boy, maybe a year or so older than her, crouched in a corner, sniffling. His arms were wrapped around his knees, a few tears streaking down his face. She tilted her head and frowned at the boy. "Are you alright?" The boy looked up at her, eyes still watery, and she knelt beside him. "You have mushrooms in your hair," she informed him, reaching forward to pick one out.

"Maman is sick again," he told her quietly, looking upset. "But… she told me to go out and play today. I don't want to… I like to play piano for her when she's sick."

Haruhi looked at him blankly. "But she obviously wants you to have fun," she informed him, stating what, to her, seemed obvious. Also, he was already outside. Seeing his confused look, she continued "She sent you out, right? She must like it when you play for her, but she decided that she'd like it better if you were happy. So you should do as she says."

The boy started to smile and straightened up a little. "Yeah… Okay. I'll have fun!" He looked determined now, smiling widely. "I'll have the most fun in the world!" He beamed.

_He recovered from that fast, _Haruhi mused.

The boy held out his hand to her, smiling confidently. "I'm Réne, but you can call me Tamaki, since it sounds more Japanese."

Haruhi looked at him blankly for a moment before shrugging and shaking his hand once. "I'm Haruhi," she informed him. Then she turned to walk away, intent on going and continuing to wander alone.

"Wait!" Tamaki protested, grabbing her shoulder. "Won't you play with me, Haruhi? It's no fun playing by yourself!"

Haruhi looked over her shoulder and gave him a blank look. "Why not?"

"Because… because…" Tamaki seemed to fumble for his answer for a moment. Haruhi wondered if he even had a reason. "Because there are more people! Two heads are better than one, right?" He looked at her hopefully.

Haruhi tilted her head and considered him with wide eyes for a moment. Then she shrugged. "OK." She didn't really care either way, anyway.

He beamed and bounded over to her, excited. "Right! Then what should we do?" He looked at her expectantly.

Haruhi tipped her head to the side. "You didn't have anything in mind?" she questioned.

Tamaki deflated and tapped his forefingers together sheepishly. "Well… no…"

Haruhi sighed resignedly and pointed toward the field nearby. "There's a big field over there… we can make snowmen." She figured Tamaki could do that.

Tamaki perked up again, beaming. "Snowmen! I've heard of them! Isn't that something commoners make out of snow?"

Haruhi frowned at him. Oh. "Rich people…" she grumbled under her breath, exasperated. Louder, she stated flatly, "Yes."

"Sounds like fun!" Tamaki said, beaming brighter than ever. And he was the one who led the way to the field, to instantly start scooping snow together into a big pile.

"You don't do it like that," Haruhi informed him as she caught up. She reached down and scooped a pile of snow into a ball. "Here," she told him, giving him the ball and starting to push his hands so that he was rolling the ball around in the snow. "Do that until it's really big."

Tamaki gave her a slightly startled look for a moment, mouth open slightly, and then looked back down to the snowball. "Okay." And he started to push the ball around in the snow. Haruhi looked back down and made three balls of snow, then began to push one around herself.

She was on her second ball, the middle one, by the time Tamaki called over to her, "Haruhi! Is this big enough?"

She looked up and her mouth dropped open slightly. Beside Tamaki, who was looking at her hopefully, was a _huge _ball of snow, almost as tall as Tamaki.

She looked back down at her middle ball, then to her bottom one. Haruhi reached for her bottom one and picked it up. She looked back at Tamaki, who was wilting, then to the ball beside him. She looked back at hers. It needed to be bigger.

"It's too big," she told him bluntly.

He wilted, flying beside one of the trees to crouch and sulk. She sighed.

"Come help me make this bigger," she continued. "We'll use yours for the bottom. Mine can be the middle."

He perked up and, almost instantly, was next to her, helping her roll her ball around and scooping snow in its path to make it easier.

Before long, it was big enough for Haruhi to deem it 'the middle ball' and so came the next obstacle.

Getting it onto the bottom one.

Haruhi tilted her head and contemplated the spherical pile of snow, ignoring Tamaki, who was standing beside her, practically vibrating with excitement. Finally, she looked at Tamaki. "Help me push it up the side," she instructed him, bending down to pick up one side.

He ducked down and grabbed the other and between them, they just managed to shove it atop the other, thought it was easier for Tamaki then for Haruhi, as he was taller. Haruhi even had to stand on her tiptoes to push it up.

Finally, it was on, and they both looked up at the structure, which was now twice as tall as Haruhi. Tamaki was jumping up and down in excitement, grinning widely. "It's so big!" he exclaimed happily. Haruhi shrugged and returned to her former 'middle' ball, which was now the top one. Tamaki quickly realized that his new friend had vanished and hopped over to help again.

"How _exactly _do you intend to get the ball on top of that monstrous structure?" a voice inquired.

Both of them looked up to see a boy about Tamaki's age, pushing his glasses up his nose. A little black notebook was under his arm, and he was looking at them skeptically.

Haruhi shrugged. "Don't know."

"Haruhi can stand on my shoulders!" Tamaki declared proudly, ignoring the fact that he might not even be able to _lift _Haruhi on his shoulders, let alone keep her steady enough to push it up.

The boy sighed exasperatedly. "Honestly. You two _obviously _can't do it alone."

"Will you help, then?" Tamaki asked hopefully.

The boy looked at them for a moment, and then sighed again. "No."

Tamaki looked crushed, and flew beside a tree to sulk again. Haruhi looked after him and sighed. The boy glanced at the blond one and raised an eyebrow. Then he sighed, too.

"I _suppose _that I can go find something for its face." He glanced into the trees a ways away. "Tachibana, help me find something for the arms." As he walked away, followed by a man who emerged from the trees, he glanced over his shoulder and added, "I'm Kyoya Ootori." As he continued on out, he mumbled, "The accessories are going to need to be very large for a snowman of that size…"

Tamaki grinned triumphantly and patted the snowball, rounding it out a little more. They continued to push, packing more and more snow onto the little ball. It took longer than it had more the middle one, since Haruhi had barely started this one and there was hardly any snow left in the clearing.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of snow came falling down from one of the nearby trees onto Haruhi. As she pushed her way up, she looked up to see two redheaded boys snickering. One of them caught her looking and smirked down at her.

"We noticed that you were running out of snow," he informed her.

"So we decided to give you some," added the other, also smirking. Haruhi noted that his voice was slightly different.

Then together, "Because we've never seen a snowman that big before."

Tamaki grinned up at the pair. "Thanks, you two! But why did you dump it on Haruhi?"

They both laughed. "It's more fun that way!"

Both of them dropped down, one after the other, and walked up to them, grinning slyly. Haruhi dug herself the rest of the way out and then perched atop the pile of snow, looking at them curiously.

"I'm Hikaru," added one. Haruhi made note of his voice, seeing as that seemed to be the only way of distinguishing them easily.

"And I'm Kaoru," added the other. Haruhi made note of his voice, too. She figured that, since they were actually different people, there would be other differences, but since she didn't know them, she would have to stick with their voices.

"Why don't you come play with us?" asked Tamaki, undaunted. Haruhi looked at him, eyes wide and curious. He'd asked for Kyoya, too. He must really like talking to people, Haruhi realized. No wonder he hadn't wanted to play alone.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Got nothing better to do," decided Hikaru. "What do you want us to do?"

Haruhi looked down at the pile of snow around her, then back up at them and shrugged. "We have enough snow to finish the snowman now," she commented. She tilted her head and smiled brightly, making all three other boys stop and stare at her, open-mouthed. "Since there's so much, we can make him a pet, too. But we'd need more snow to make it big enough."

The three boys stared at her for a moment longer. _So cute, _they thought at the same the twins said together, "We can do that!"

Then they rushed off to shake more snow from the trees, causing it to come crashing down to the ground, creating large piles from which they could gather enough snow to make any pet they wanted.

Tamaki and Haruhi rolled the ball of snow around in the new pile.

"It's big enough," Haruhi finally decided, looking (down, finally) at the large ball of snow before them. Then she looked at the big, partially completed snowman and frowned. "How are we going to get it up, though?"

Tamaki looked over and considered. Then he pushed the ball toward the structure and crouched down. "You can stand on my shoulders," he offered.

Haruhi looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. Carefully, she climbed onto his shoulder. He rolled the ball up to her. She took it and rolled it up. He struggled to stand, and eventually managed to straighten up completely, with Haruhi on his shoulders. He decided he was glad that Haruhi was so light – he'd never actually managed to lift someone before. Haruhi, however, was still having trouble.

"I… can't… reach…" Haruhi grunted finally, frustrated.

"Here," a voice said beside her. Hikaru's. She looked beside her to see Hikaru, then down. That must be Kaoru, then. Hikaru reached forward a bit, pushing the ball a little farther, and they both pushed it up, hard, at the same time, managing to propel the ball fully on top of the structure.

She smiled at Hikaru. "Thanks, Hikaru."

He stared at her, open mouthed. Below him, so did Kaoru. "How'd you know?"

Haruhi shrugged. "Your voices are different," she explained. They just continued to stare at her. She shrugged again and looked back to the 'head' and her eyes widened suddenly.

Hikaru frowned, brought out of his shock. "What's wr-" He looked to where she was looking and froze.

The head was rolling off the other side of the body.

In unison, they reached forward, trying to stop it, but couldn't reach far enough without unbalancing. _"No!"_

Then two hands closed on either side of the ball and returned it to its former position, steadying it.

"Huh?" Hikaru managed.

Beneath Haruhi, Tamaki bounced impatiently. "What is it? What happened?" He was bouncing so hard that he unbalanced Haruhi, who yelped as she began to tumble off of him.

She was caught against a surprisingly large chest and looked up. A boy, probably about two years older than her, was looking down with a neutral expression, and on top of his head, another boy, small with blond hair and brown eyes, clung with hands that matched the ones that had steadied the ball.

"You should be more careful," rumbled the bigger boy.

"Yeah, you could have hurt yourself," worried the smaller one in agreement. Then he smiled warmly and added, "I'm Mitskuni Haninozuka, but you can call me Honey. Most people do." He tapped the other boy's head. "And this is Takashi Morinozuka; people call him Mori."

Mori set her down and patted her head once. She gave him a slightly puzzled look, then sighed resignedly. "I'm Haruhi." She glanced back at the others. Hikaru was no longer on Kaoru's shoulders, but since Kaoru was in the same place she could still tell who was who. "That's Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru. Kyoya went to look for things to put on the snowman." She looked back to them, face mostly neutral but with her head tilted slightly and her expression a little curious. "Would you like to play with us?"

Honey beamed down at her. "We would _love _to!" he exclaimed. Mori nodded once, apparently agreeing. Haruhi nodded in return and then turned with a swoosh back to the others, heading back toward them. Mori and Honey followed.

Haruhi, as the only one with actual _experience _in building snowmen, stood back and looked at it thoughtfully. "It's good," she finally decided.

"It had better be," groused a voice behind her. She turned around.

"Hi, Kyoya," she greeted. She looked down and tilted her head, then smiled. "Those are really good."

At Kyoya's feet were a gathering of materials, each an appropriate size for the snowman in question. The man from before, Tachibana, held two very large sticks, which he set down at the snowman's feet before standing back, expression unchanged but somehow approving. There were two medium-sized rocks and a Carrot of Unusual Size.

Haruhi looked back to the others. "Let's put them on," she said. She picked up one of the rocks and returned to the snowman, then frowned. It was like putting the head on… but worse.

"How did you even get the head on?" asked Kyoya, frowning at her. Haruhi looked at him and shrugged.

"By standing on each others' shoulders," she answered matter-of-factly. She looked back to the head and then yelped. She was being lifted.

She quickly reach the same level as the snowman's face and looked down. Mori was looking up at her with the same neutral expression, but she thought she saw an excited glint in his eyes and a tiny smile tugging at his mouth. She gave him a tiny smile back and then placed one of the eyes on the face.

"Here," a voice said from below her. She looked down to see one of the twins holding up the other eye to her, standing on the others' shoulders, and she smiled again.

"Thanks, Kaoru," she told him, bending down slightly to retrieve the black rock and ignoring the twin's shocked expression. She'd gotten it right again.

She pushed the other 'eye' gently onto the snowman, then looked thoughtfully down. "Since Kyoya gathered the materials, he should get to put the nose on," she decided.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose and then crossed his arms grumpily. "What makes you think I _want _to put the nose on?"

"Do you?" Haruhi asked, head tilted and chocolate brown eyes on Kyoya.

"…Yes."

Mori let Haruhi down again and Kyoya, carrot in hand, walked up to the boy, giving him a slightly suspicious look. Then Mori lifted him and Kyoya, ever so carefully, inserted the carrot into the snowman's face, completing it.

Honey clapped his hands happily as Mori returned Kyoya to the ground. "Yay! It's almost finished!" Then he looked down to the ground and gave it a puzzled look. "Hey, where'd the sticks go?"

They looked back to the snowman and found the twins, once again with one on the other's shoulders, putting one stick into the snowman. The other lay at the bottom twin's feet.

The twins finished putting it in and turned to grin at the others, still precariously balanced.

Tamaki clapped his hands and grinned. "Great job, you two!" he cheered. "Now we just have to put the other on and it'll be finished!"

They both glared at him halfheartedly; they'd wanted a smile from Haruhi, not a cheer from him!

While the three of them were arguing, Haruhi picked up the stick and gave it to Tachibana. She tilted her head and looked up at him. "Since you helped to find the sticks, you should get to put one on too," she said logically.

He looked at her blankly for a moment, but found himself utterly unable to fault her logic. So he put the last arm in while Tamaki and the twins were arguing.

"It's finished," Haruhi informed them.

"Huh?" Tamaki yelped, whipping around and finding that everything was indeed in place. "But…!"

Haruhi frowned at him and then spun around. She tipped her head to the side and then smiled warmly. "It turned out well."

The arguments were forgotten.

Everyone else followed after her and stood back to view to monstrous snowman. Not a single one of them wasn't pleased by it; the twins high fived each other, Mori and Honey exchanged a small smile, Haruhi smiled at it, Tamaki jumped up and down happily, and Kyoya instructed Tachibana to take a picture.

"Haruhi!" a voice rang through the trees. Almost everyone jumped, but Haruhi just turned toward it with a questioningly.

"Daddy?" she called back, heading toward it.

Behind her, the boys deflated.

"Haruhi!" the voice called again. A man, face lightly coated in makeup, burst through and swept Haruhi up in a hug. "Haruhi, oh, Daddy was so worried about you! Why didn't you go home after Daddy went with his friend?"

Haruhi just looked at him. "I was already here," she stated flatly. "And I was playing." She gestured to the boys behind her.

Ryoji looked past Haruhi and nearly blanched at the gathering there. A Daddy's worst nightmare for his daughter. Six. Different. Boys. And a man! He looked down at Haruhi and asked, a little too sweetly, "Won't you tell Daddy what you were doing?"

Haruhi pointed at the humongous snowman on the other side of the clearing. "Building a snowman."

Ryoji relaxed. "Oh." He perked up again. "Well, it's time to go back home now!"

"Haruhi!" wailed Tamaki, upset.

The two twins looked at each other and then at Haruhi. "Will you be here again?" they wanted to know.

Mori looked at her expectantly, and Honey, back on his shoulders, pouted at her, eyes wide and teary.

She just gave them a puzzled look. Why were they so determined to see her again? They'd only played together one day.

Then Kyoya glanced up at her. "We could call you," he offered quietly, struggling to keep his voice even.

"Yes!" Tamaki pounced on the suggestion. "We could call you! What's your cell phone number?"

"I don't have a cell phone," Haruhi deadpanned. When the boys deflated, she sighed. "But I have a home phone." She started to look around for a piece of paper when a small notebook was pushed into her hand.

"Here," Kyoya said quietly. "Write it there."

She looked down at the blank page and then took the pen attached to the notebook, scribbling down the home phone number quickly. She handed the notebook back to Kyoya.

Kyoya scanned the number and then pulled the page off, tore it into five different pieces, and copied the number onto each one. Then he held four of them out to the other boys.

Each one of them took one, except Kaoru, who instantly peered down at the copy Hikaru had claimed.

Ryoji waited patiently as Haruhi said goodbye to her new friends, each one seeming more disappointed than he privately thought they had any right to be. From the way they were acting, you would think that they were fated to be friends forever or something…

"I'm only going to be here a week," muttered Tamaki suddenly, scuffing one foot in the snow. "Then Maman and I have to go back to France."

Each boy and Haruhi looked at him, disappointment echoed on each face. Then, finally…

"Then we'll have to make the best of the week we have, won't we?" said Honey brightly, clinging tighter to Mori with a smile.

"Yeah!" Tamaki agreed enthusiastically.

"Yes, I suppose so," Kyoya conceded, pushing his glasses up his nose.

The twins looked at each other and then grinned. "Sounds like fun!" they said together.

Haruhi gave them all a warm smile. "Goodbye!" she called, waving.

"Goodbye!" they chorused in return, waving back as Ryoji carried her away. From there, the group only deteriorated further, the twins' mother finding them and shooing them toward the car, Tachibana insisting that Kyoya return, and Tamaki deciding to return to his mother.

Mori and Honey lingered in the clearing, taking one last look at the snowman they'd built together.

_Bong._

Haruhi looked up at the great grandfather clock that stood over the city and thought that she'd never felt so at home among other people before.

_Bong._

The twins looked up at the clock and wondered just who Haruhi was, to tell the two of them apart so easily, as if it were no trouble at all.

_Bong._

Tamaki looked out the window from where he was once again playing the piano and smiled, thinking of the new friends he'd made that day.

_Bong._

Kyoya looked up to the clock and mused that he'd never felt so accepted by a group before, always beneath notice, always looked at but not seen.

_Bong._

Mori and Honey looked up at the clock above the city.

"They're gonna be real important to us someday, aren't they, Mori?" Honey asked the boy holding him on his shoulders.

"Yeah," agreed Mori.

Neither of them had a problem with that.

* * *

**So there. Originally, this was going to be a oneshot, but then I started getting _ideas _and I just couldn't do it. This is a big enough oneshot by itself, much more (which it will be) would have been too much. So, more chapters on the way! Eventually. Please review!**


	2. Skating Around

**A/N: I'm posting late again... -.- You may see a few (unintentional) similarities in the beginning, but it turned out okay. Please read! *smile***

**Title: Snow Days**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship**

**Warnings: Unlikely circumstances**

**Summary:**** The Host Club's first meeting - before it was the Host Club.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

Haruhi reached for the phone before it could wake up her father and picked it up. "Haruhi," she said simply. Anyone who called their house would know who she was.

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi blinked. "Tamaki?" she inquired.

"Haruhi! Yes! So it is the right number! Haruhi, let's go out to the ice rink today!"

She blinked twice. "OK. When?"

"In a couple of hours?" he suggested hopefully. "At eleven?"

She considered, then shrugged. "OK."

She hung up and started to shuffle around the kitchen, gathering ingredients. It would be nice to have something warm to eat after they went skating, she decided. So a lot of soup, maybe…

She started to chop ingredients, preparing some broth at the same time. Her friends would like it too, she mused, and she made enough for all of them. Then she poured it into a couple of thermoses, which she knew would keep it hot until they decided to eat it.

When eleven came around, she pulled on her coat and shoes, then scribbled a short note. _Went to ice rink with the boys. –Haruhi _Then she walked out the door.

She remembered the way to the ice rink, somewhat. Except she forgot. She looked around, frowning, before going up to a random person and tugging on their sleeve. The woman looked down and smiled at her, a hint of concern in her eyes.

"Hello, sweetie. What are you doing here all alone?"

"Can you tell me which way the ice rink is?" she asked plainly, big brown eyes watching the woman closely and thermoses tucked under one arm.

The woman smiled. "Certainly. But I'd feel better if I went with you, just to make sure you got there safely. Is that all right?"

Haruhi tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "OK."

She took the lady's hand and began to follow her along the road, presumably toward the ice rink. She allowed her mind to wander, looking around curiously, and making note of the route they were taking.

"Haruhi," a voice rumbled behind her. She looked up in puzzlement.

"Hi, Mori," she greeted with a small wave.

"Hi, Haru-chan!" Honey greeted brightly, waving exuberantly back from Mori's shoulders. "Going to the ice rink?"

She nodded and turned back to the street, focusing on her route again.

"Friends of yours?" the woman asked, looking down at her with a kind smile. She nodded again. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you with them." A tinge of doubt colored her voice, but she glanced at Mori – who did look a great deal older than he was – and smiled. "Have fun, then."

"We will!" Honey assured her, beaming. She smiled at him and then turned away, going back the way she had been going before.

Mori took the lead silently, with Honey chattering away. Haruhi occasionally gave noncommittal replies, though she was listening, albeit with one ear.

Finally, they reached the rink and Mori led the way, pushing open the large door, to find the other four waiting for them, with Tamaki jumping up and down, waving both of his arms, and the twins brandishing designer skates at them.

"Rich people…" mumbled Haruhi exasperatedly.

She took the skates anyway, strapping them onto her feet and heading out onto the rink, though she was the slowest and got there last. Just before she left, she placed the thermoses of soup on a table, where some of the other boys had left stuff.

The twins were waiting for her, and as she reached them, they swept her up between them, propelling her along.

"What are you doing to my Haruhi?" Tamaki objected almost instantly, spotting them with disturbing speed.

Haruhi glanced woodenly over her shoulder. "I'm not yours," she stated flatly.

Both twins sent Tamaki triumphant smirks and then led Haruhi off in another direction, away from a wilted Tamaki, who sulked (with great balance) in a corner.

"Haru-chan! Haru-chan!"

Haruhi looked over again (what was with all these rich people and calling for her? Couldn't they call for each other instead?) to find Honey skating just behind them easily, Mori close behind.

"Look over there, Haru-chan!" he cheered enthusiastically. She looked over to find Kyoya skating along, with a grace that surprised Haruhi, who hadn't thought that he would like this sort of thing. Well, she supposed she didn't really know him well yet.

Then she saw what Honey was really pointing out – Kyoya pulled out his notebook, still skating along, and made a note in it before tucking it away again, all the while not even faltering in his motion.

"Well," started one twin. Hikaru, Haruhi remembered.

"This was fun," continued Kaoru.

"But we have people to heckle," they finished together, looking straight at Tamaki, still balanced on his skates in the corner. "So see you, Haruhi!"

They skated over there, pushing and grinning at each other.

So Haruhi skated with Mori and Honey, watching with mild interest as the twins started to poke and prod Tamaki, who seemed oddly unresponsive.

"Well, aren't you the cutest thing?"

She glanced up to find an adult standing over her, leaning against the wall, smiling fondly. She slid to a stop and, unable to reach the wall from the place she'd chosen, nearly fell. Mori, who had chosen a better place (or possibly just had a longer reach) caught her and guided her over to the guard rail. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the woman who was watching, now with some concern, as was the man beside her.

"Where are your parents, sweetie?" she asked.

Haruhi shrugged. "At home," she replied.

"She's with us," Mori rumbled.

The man looked at him and protested, "You can't be older than ten or eleven." Apparently he wasn't quite as convinced as the lady on the street.

"He said, she's with us," asserted Honey, arms crossed and expression a dark frown.

"There's Tamaki, Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru with us too," Haruhi added helpfully. She indicated the corner, containing Tamaki and the twins, and then to Kyoya, who had just taken out his notebook for another note, eyes on them.

Kyoya chose that moment to approach them, looking at them with a charming smile. "Kyoya Ootori," he introduced himself, adjusting the notebook tucked under his arm. "Haruhi is here with us."

Both of them started slightly, recognizing the name.

"O-oh!" the woman exclaimed, startled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize…"

Kyoya's smile widened a little. "It's no trouble. Now, if you'll just let us be on our way…" He trailed off and took Haruhi's hand, guiding her away from the couple, who let them go without further objections.

"What was that?" Haruhi asked him, following along.

"My family is quite well known," Kyoya explained casually, not seeming to care either way. "So the name in and of itself induces a bit of a response in most adult commoners." He looked over his shoulder to smirk at her. "It's quite useful at times."

Haruhi tilted her head. "Huh."

Kyoya smirked at her again and then let go, going his own way again. She went off, wandering the ice rink alone, not going anywhere in particular.

"Hey, it's that Fujioka kid!"

The voice had her looking over her shoulder. She winced and turned away again, but it was too late. A hand landed on her shoulder, forcing her to a stop that in turn had her falling to the ground. She looked up at them with big brown eyes and frowned, brow furrowing. "Oh, it's you."

At school, she wasn't well liked. She was too smart, too blunt, and her dad was gay. Each one individually was enough to earn a bullying remark or two, but put them together and there were a fair few people who didn't like her.

"Yeah," agreed the boy, Hikagu, with a smirk. "It's us." He was their leader, in a sense, and probably the most viciously homophobic. Haruhi looked at him flatly.

"Go away, I'm with friends."

"And if we don't want to?" challenged the second boy, Yoji, who was easily offended. He'd been on the sharp end of her comments more than once.

She didn't answer.

The third and last boy, whose name was Fumiko, dropped down beside her and made the first move, pulling hard on her hair with a mocking smirk. She winced. "Stop it!" she protested, scowling at them.

"Leave her alone," Mori rumbled, suddenly appearing over Fumiko, glowering stonily down at the boy. Fumiko blanched and scrambled back, letting go instantly.

"H-hey!" protested Hikagu, frightened but angry. "Who the heck are you?"

"We're friends of Haruhi's," Honey told him, appearing from behind Mori, with his scary look on.

The bullies dispersed without further protest, but with much yelping and fear. Mori reached down and pulled Haruhi to her feet, brushing her off gently. Haruhi smiled at him warmly.

"Thanks, Mori," she told him.

"Who were they, Haru-chan?" Honey wanted to know, clutching at Mori's leg.

Haruhi shrugged. "Bullies from school. They don't like me." She made to skate away, closely followed by Mori and Honey.

Strangely, she didn't find herself alone for the rest of the afternoon.

Kyoya was the first to leave the rink, returning to the table and lounging boredly there. Tamaki followed, escaping the twins' antics and annoying the other boy with his chatter.

Haruhi looked between the remaining boys – all near her, for some reason – and then skated toward the door, taking off her skates and returning to the table. She took the thermoses, which Kyoya and Tamaki had been ignoring, and borrowed some bowls from one of the attendants, before pouring the soup in. Tamaki leaned toward her.

"What's that, Haruhi?"

"Soup," she said simply. She pushed one of the bowls toward him, and Kyoya picked up the other. Honey appeared at her shoulder.

"Can I have some too, Haru-chan?" he asked excitedly. She nodded and poured another bowl, and he took it, bouncing (though he was careful not to spill the soup) toward his seat. She offered another to Mori, and then poured two for the twins, who each took one and plopped down on either side of her. She finally poured the last of it for herself, and picked up a spoon, which she had grabbed at the same time as the bowls, and started to eat it.

"It's yummy, Haru-chan!" Honey exclaimed happily, slurping at his soup.

"Yes, it's wonderful!" Tamaki agreed, grinning at her, leaning over his bowl.

"Not bad at all," Kyoya conceded, sipping at his spoon.

She smiled. "Thanks. I'm better at soup than at egg rolls, so I decided to make this."

They all paused and gaped at her. "_You _made this?" Tamaki exclaimed, looking even more delighted.

She nodded. "Mm-hm."

They beamed and, after that, they seemed to enjoy eating it a little more than before. She shrugged to herself and turned back to her soup.

Eventually, they left the ice rink in a tightly clustered group, just in time to miss Ryoji bursting in, crying, "Haruhi!"

"Where should we go now?" Tamaki asked excitedly, having long recovered from his depression. He directed his question to Haruhi, knowing that she spent the most time around here.

Haruhi rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them, and shrugged. Kyoya, though, spotted it and suggested, "Perhaps a café? We can get hot chocolate."

The twins both grinned and grabbed one of Haruhi's hands, spinning her around as they ran in circles around her, chanting, "Hot chocolate! Hot chocolate!"

Haruhi shook herself free and sighed. "OK. There's a café nearby, we can…"

"But there's a café right over there, Haru-chan!" Honey pointed out, pointing at a combination café and bakery that was almost right next to them. Haruhi looked at it.

"But that's for…" Oh. She rolled her eyes. _Rich people. _It was a rich people café, but then again, considering who she was with… "OK."

Tamaki grinned, grabbed her hand, and bounced over to the café, storming in unrepentantly. The others followed close behind, and Haruhi only just had time to note the quiet atmosphere of the café before Tamaki started talking, drawing several gazes to them instantly. "OK, so each of us can get a hot chocolate! But it's a bakery, so it would be a shame not to get something else!" He grinned.

Honey's eyes sparkled. _Cake. _Then he frowned. "My dad said that I should restrain myself from indulging too much," he said quietly.

Tamaki smiled at him encouragingly. "Come now, Honey, one piece can't hurt!"

Honey looked uncertain and glanced up at Mori, who smiled at him softly. "If you're sure…" he said hesitantly.

Tamaki grinned and shot over to the man behind the counter, who looked at him a little warily. "Hello, good sir! What kinds of cakes do you have?"

Haruhi, meanwhile, looked at the menu and winced. Those prices were really high…

Everyone else was listening as the man rattled off the list of cakes without hesitation, and then finally places their orders – Honey ordering three different cakes – and then Kyoya putting in the hot chocolate that all the others had forgotten they had come here for.

Finally, all of them looked at her. "What are you getting, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked.

Haruhi shuffled uncertainly and glanced at the menu again. "I don't think I'll get anything…" she said quietly. "It's all too expensive."

Honey beamed at her. "It's okay, Haru-chan, we can pay for it!"

Mori glanced at her and nodded once, while Tamaki nodded in furious agreement and even Kyoya didn't particularly object. Much.

She smiled at them and then stated, "Well, okay…" She looked up at the man behind the counter. "I'd like strawberry, please."

The man nodded and then set about getting all the cakes, which Haruhi privately thought looked far too fancy, and then preparing the hot chocolate. Finally, he set them all on the counter, and each person picked up their plate and cup, happily darting off to the largest table in the room, occupying it and ignoring the stares they were receiving. Well, Tamaki, Honey, and the twins darted. Mori, Kyoya, and Haruhi just followed along behind.

By the time they'd reached the table, all of those already present were digging into their cakes, grinning, and almost ignoring their hot chocolate. Haruhi sat next to Kaoru and sipped at her hot chocolate. Her eyes widened slightly; it was better than any hot chocolate _she'd _ever tasted.

Kaoru spotted her expression and grinned. "You like it, Haruhi?"

She looked at him and nodded. "It's good." She sipped at her hot chocolate again, finding it a bit odd that it wasn't hot enough to burn her tongue, and then set it down to try the (far too fancy) cake. Her eyes widened again at the taste of it, but she was a bit less surprised this time.

Hikaru looked at her and grinned at his twin, who grinned back. "So you like fancy cakes?"

Haruhi shrugged. "I don't like sweet things a lot," she admitted. "But I like strawberries."

Hikaru grinned again. Bingo! He'd gotten a strawberry-chocolate cake, and he speared one of the strawberries, smeared with chocolate frosting, and offered it to her. "Here, try this!"

She looked at him for a moment, considering, and then leaned forward to bite it off the fork. The table leaned forward, watching her as she chewed, swallowed, and smiled. "I like it. Thanks, Hikaru."

Even with her having identified him correctly numerous times now, Hikaru nearly dropped his fork. Then he recovered and both he and Kaoru grinned at her. She just turned back to her cake, eating it happily.

They ignored the stares that they continued to receive from the other patrons.

Suddenly, music started to play, and Kyoya paused in his eating, digging something out of his pocket and eventually pulling out a cell phone and answering it. "Hello, who is this?" he asked, sounding annoyed and impatient. Then surprise crossed his face. "Fuyumi?" A scowl. "No, I'm with friends." A deeper scowl, slightly defensive. "I can make friends!" He sighed and placed his arm on the table, leaning on it slightly. "I'm not going, Fuyumi. Aren't you always telling me I need to make friends with people?" He listened for a moment, and frowned again, covering the mouthpiece and informing the table, "Fuyumi wants me to go with her… somewhere. I wasn't really listening."

"Don't go," Hikaru said instantly, logically.

Haruhi tilted her head and looked at Kyoya, agreeing. "If you don't want to go, then don't."

"She's being pushy!"

Honey looked up at Kyoya and smiled. "Then we can hide from her."

A hint of excitement, almost completely disguised, glinted in Kyoya's eyes, and he sat up slightly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'm not going, Fuyumi."

And then he hung up.

Kyoya stood and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Let's go."

They abandoned their plates at the table – most of them having finished their cake anyway – and stormed back out the door, leaving the café as silent as it had been when they arrived, but significantly more rattled.

The twins, rather pleased to be defying authority, led the way, ducking this way and that and getting the group lost in the crowd, before finally diving into a clothing store.

"Why'd you bring us here?" Tamaki wanted to know, looking around.

Both twins shrugged. "Haruhi needs better clothes," they answered together, eying Haruhi's current outfit distastefully. Haruhi crossed her arms and frowned at them.

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"What _isn't _wrong with your clothes?" Hikaru replied almost instantly.

"We can't do anything conspicuous," Kyoya disagreed. "Or Fuyumi will find me and this entire endeavor will be pointless."

The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"He's got a point," Kaoru commented.

Hikaru sighed. "Fine," he muttered grudgingly. Then both he and Kaoru grabbed one of Haruhi's hands, and Hikaru one of Kyoya's, and dragged them into the racks of clothes, which turned out to be an excellent hiding place, with no one being able to easily see inside. Tamaki, Mori, and Honey made to hide in one nearby.

Haruhi looked up at Hikaru and asked curiously, "Why are we in here?"

Hikaru grinned at her and pointed at the clothes around them. She followed his finger and sighed. Girl's clothing. "Really, Hikaru?" she complained.

Hikaru just grinned at her and started pointing out clothes (in a whisper) that she should wear. She tried her best to ignore him. Then Kaoru started putting in his opinions.

She tried harder.

It was an eternity and a half before the clothes in front of them parted and all three of them got deer-in-the-headlights looks on their faces. A girl, who somewhat resembled Kyoya, was looking down at them with a frown. Then she blinked.

"You really were with friends," she mused, sounding surprised, and presumably speaking to Kyoya, who scowled at her.

"That's what I _said, _Fuyumi."

Fuyumi shrugged and then grabbed his hand, dragging him up. "Well, either way, I've found you! Sneaky brat," she grumbled. The twins caught each others – and, surprisingly, Kyoya's – eyes, and grinned. Kyoya chuckled, almost inaudibly, but frowned again, waving once as Fuyumi dragged him away, still muttering to herself.

Once they were gone, there was a brief silence, and Tamaki peeked out of his clothing rack and frowned disappointedly. "He's gone?"

"Fuyumi found him," Haruhi explained. He wilted. She tilted her head and added, "I should go now. Dad's probably wondering where I am."

Outside, a distant 'Haruhi!' could just be heard.

"Or looking for me," Haruhi amended.

Tamaki flew into a corner to sulk. She sighed and turned away, waving over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow," she threw out, heading for the door.

Tamaki bounced up and hurried after her, catching up quickly, and hugged her tightly, seemingly delighted. "See you tomorrow, Haruhi!"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" agreed Hikaru, grinning. Then both of them dragged Tamaki off of Haruhi and hugged her in his place. She squirmed.

"I need to go now," she informed them.

They didn't let go. She squirmed and looked over to Mori. "Mori, help me!" she requested.

Mori walked over and picked her up, out of the twins' grasps, and unintentionally causing them to tumble to the ground as they lost their support beam.

"But Har-u-hi!" they whined together.

She looked at Mori and smiled. "Thanks, Mori."

He nodded and placed her back on the ground. Then, "Bye."

"See you tomorrow, Haru-chan!" added Honey, jumping up and hugging her tightly for a moment before he let go. She turned away again and successfully left, mind already on other things, like what she'd make for the sides to dinner that night. And if they had something for a main dish… did they have something for a main dish? She mulled that over, beginning to walk home.

But, briefly, the thought did flicker across her mind that it had been a nice day.

* * *

**This one was actually harder than the last one... it probably shows. Oh, well, future ones ought to be better. I hope you all liked it anyway! Please review!**


	3. Sleepovers

**A/N: Yay! New adorableness! I wanna know what you think, so please read!**

**Title: Snow Days**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship**

**Warnings: Unlikely circumstances**

**Summary:**** The Host Club's first meeting - before it was the Host Club.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Haruhi pocketed some money and grabbed her box of snacks, walking out the door of her family's apartment. She hadn't been sent out today, and by now, she _really _needed to go grocery shopping. Normally, she would have gone two days before, but with first Ryoji, then Tamaki calling her out to play, there had really been no time. Honestly, it had been careless of her father to forget, but that was Ryoji for you.

Regardless, she was going out for groceries, or at least, with the intent of getting groceries.

It didn't actually happen that way.

This was because she hadn't turned two street corners before she stumbled upon Tamaki, who spotted her instantly, holding the hand of a pretty blond woman.

"Haruhi!" he cried, surprised.

She sighed and instantly resigned herself to waiting _another _day for groceries, changing direction to meet with Tamaki instead. "Hi, Tamaki."

Tamaki waved furiously at her. "Haruhi, Haruhi! This is Maman! She isn't sick anymore, so we decided to take a walk."

Haruhi looked up at her with wide, curious brown eyes. Tamaki's mother smiled warmly down at her. "Hello. So you're the Haruhi that Réne's told me so much about these past two days? I'm glad to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my son while I was ill."

Both of them ignored Tamaki's indignant sputtering.

Haruhi tilted her head. "We just made a snowman," she puzzled.

"A really _big _snowman!" Tamaki enthused.

"That was your fault," Haruhi told him bluntly.

He flew into a corner and moped miserably. His mother hid a fond giggle behind her hand. "Réne, why don't you have fun with your friend? I'll be fine on my own."

Like magic, Tamaki was up again, looking at his mother with worried amethyst eyes. "Are you sure, Maman?"

She smiled. "I'm sure. Go have fun, Réne."

Tamaki smiled back hesitantly. "Okay, Maman." He turned away and then darted toward Haruhi, already his enthusiastic self again. "Haruhi! Let's go to the park! We can do more commoner things, like snow angels and snowballs!"

Haruhi sighed and turned toward the park, letting him chatter away at her, pausing only to wave goodbye to his mom, who smiled fondly after them.

Haruhi got a (short) break from the endless chatter when Tamaki started and yanked out his cell phone, calling the others one by one. By the sound of it, all of them agreed.

Strangely, though, there seemed to be a few who only agreed after he had mentioned that she would be coming… Haruhi shrugged. _Rich people._

Finally, Tamaki hung up with the last person – Kyoya – and grinned at Haruhi. "They're all coming!" he announced proudly, as if she hadn't been listening the entire time. "They'll meet us there."

He stuck his phone back in his pocket and bounded happily after Haruhi, back to chattering.

They soon reached the park, but didn't head for a clearing this time. This was because the entire group, plus two people Haruhi didn't recognize, had somehow gathered on a single bench. The park's benches, Haruhi knew, could comfortably hold up to four people.

This one currently held seven.

Mori sat on one end of the bench normally, with Honey perched happily on his shoulders. On the other sat Kyoya, scribbling in his notebook, and between them were the two people Haruhi didn't recognize, one who looked like Honey, and another who resembled Mori. Finally, on the back of the bench, Hikaru and Kaoru lounged comfortably, grinning at each other as if sharing a secret.

Haruhi waved once. "Hi."

Heads snapped up to look at her, one after another, with the two strangers looking up last.

"Haruhi!" the twins cried together, waving fervently. "Over here, Haruhi!"

Haruhi considered, shrugged, and then walked toward them, stopping at the back of the bench. "Yes?"

Each twin grabbed one of her arms and hauled her onto the back of the bench. She looked blankly from one to the other, legs dangling freely over the back. Finally, she told them,

"You could have just asked."

They both grinned at her and she looked over her shoulder at the new kids, curious. "Who are you?"

Honey beamed at her proudly and pointed at the boy who looked like him. "That's my little brother, Chika! And then right next to him is Mori's little brother Satoshi!"

Haruhi gave them a puzzled look; they hadn't brought their younger brothers before.

"They wanted to meet our friends," Honey added, well used to interpreting silences and expressions. "So they followed us!"

Haruhi paused to process this for a moment, and then gave both of them a smile. "Hello, Chika. Hello, Satoshi. It's very nice to meet you."

Both of them waved at her.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Haruhi," said Chika. "Mitskuni's told me a lot about you."

Satoshi grinned at her. "And Taka-bro's talked about you, too!"

She was confused for a moment, but then remembered that Mitskuni was Honey's real name, and Takashi was Mori's, hence Taka-bro. She looked away, kicking her legs slightly. It was starting to be uncomfortable to look over her shoulder. "They never mentioned you," she said absently.

Both of them flinched. Honey giggled softly and Mori gave a small, amused smile. Well, that was Haruhi for you. As blunt as a hammer and almost as unforgiving.

"I'm bored," complained Hikaru, breaking the moment.

"Yeah, when are we going to do something interesting?" agreed Kaoru.

"Later," Tamaki dismissed, grinning. He leaned back and peered at Haruhi. "Hey, Haruhi, what's that?"

He was referring to the box she had in her lap, which she had somehow managed to keep intact thus far. She looked down at it, almost surprised. She'd forgotten about them. "Just snacks," she replied. She opened the box. "There's enough for everybody." She'd packed a lot, since she wasn't sure if she would meet up with anyone. And a good thing too.

Most of the original group, remembering the soup from the day before, dove for the box instantly, grabbing up the random snacks she had in there, which consisted of little cookies and rice balls. Even Mori and Kyoya reached for the box, though with less enthusiasm than their friends. Honey also pushed a few cookies into his brother's hand.

"Try them!" he encouraged.

Mori also picked one up and dropped it into Satoshi's open hand. "Try it," he rumbled, knowing that Satoshi would definitely like it. Not that there was a lot he didn't like – he had no taste buds.

Both of them bit the cookies – Chika with no small amount of skepticism, seeing as he didn't like sweet things – and smiled, Satoshi a bit brighter than Chika.

"It's great!" enthused Satoshi. Chika nodded in agreement, but mumbled,

"A bit sweet. I don't really like sweet things."

Satoshi hit Chika on the head. "Don't complain!" he snapped at the smaller boy. "Your big brother's friend was kind enough to give you a cookie and you shouldn't complain about it!"

Chika flinched away. "Stop it! Stupid Satoshi!"

Haruhi tilted her head and looked at Chika, who flinched again. "You don't like sweet things?" she questioned.

He shook his head warily.

Haruhi rummaged in her box for a moment, then pulled out a rice ball and offered it to him. "Here, try this."

With a bit more interest he took it from her and tried it. "Not bad," he decided. Honey beamed at him. Satoshi smiled approvingly, seemingly satisfied.

Tamaki yelped. When they looked over, they found the blonde boy looking a bit shocked, with a snowball plopped on his head.

An evil snicker made them look to Hikaru, who grinned innocently.

No one was fooled.

"Evil twins!" Tamaki raged, unable to tell which one was which and therefore which one had hit him. "I'll get you!" He hunched over and scooped together a little snowball, chucking it at Hikaru in the next moment. It missed and hit Haruhi. "Ah!" Tamaki yelped.

Haruhi blinked, frowned, and then jumped off of the bench, beginning to walk away, and causing Tamaki to panic.

"Haru-chan!" Honey called, worry in his voice. "Where are you going?"

Haruhi didn't answer, but she stopped walking and bent over. She reached into the little snowdrift at her feet and started scooping some snow together. Those still at the bench watched her with a strange sort of fascination.

Then she turned around and threw the ball at Tamaki.

For a moment, he blinked, gaping at her. "Haruhi?" he managed finally, looking shocked. She just looked at him.

Then Hikaru cheered, "Snowball fight!"

"I'm on Haruhi's side!" Tamaki said instantly.

"So are we!" the twins said together, jumping off the bench and hugging Haruhi between them.

"Yay! Takashi and I are with Haru-chan too!" cheered Honey, looking excited. He hopped off Mori's shoulders and scurried over to them, grinning.

"Mm," Mori agreed, going after him.

Kyoya let out an exasperated sigh, but closed his notebook. "I suppose that I am as well."

"Hey!" Chika objected. "If you're all on Haruhi's side, then that just leaves me with Satoshi!"

They all frowned.

"But I wanna be with Haruhi," Tamaki protested.

"Me too!" Honey pouted. Mori nodded. The twins both clung tighter to Haruhi, glaring at Chika. Kyoya looked at the pair of them with a hint of challenge and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Well, then, I suppose you will simply have to… _up your game, _as it were."

Both of them paled.

"Hey! Hey!"

A few of the kids who had been playing on the other side of the playground jogged over to them. One of them, with dark hair and light brown eyes, grinned. "Is it too late to join in?"

Satoshi grinned, a little relieved. "Not at all!" he assured them hastily. "Come over here, we're a little low in number." He shot the other side a dirty look. Kyoya smirked at him.

Four different people joined the other side and that was all it took.

"Let's begin," Kyoya said coolly, a smirk on his face and a snowball in his hand.

And so began the snowball fight. Snowballs flew every which way, no one was spared. Some hit the ground, some the trees, but most of them hit people.

Most of them hit Tamaki. Not all of them came from the opposite team. In fact, Haruhi was pretty sure that the twins spent more snowballs aiming for Tamaki than aiming for the other team.

At one point, Chika hit Honey with an especially large snowball, prompting Satoshi to hit him over the head.

"Don't hit your big brother!" he commanded.

"Ow! Ow!" Chika protested angrily. "Stupid Satoshi!"

Most of them, though, did reach 'proper' targets, meaning unrelated people on the opposite team. Haruhi smiled slightly, flinging another snowball and being snowballed in return. This was fun. She'd nearly forgotten.

But, finally, all of them collapsed tiredly into the snow. Or what was left of it.

"Fun," grinned a girl on the opposite team, smiling at Haruhi. Haruhi blinked back, but returned with a tiny smile of her own.

"Fun," Haruhi agreed.

"Let's do it again!" cheered the other girl on the other team, flailing around.

Chika stood and shook his head. "No," he muttered. "Satoshi and I have gotta go home now."

Satoshi got up, too, grinning. "But let's do it again sometime!" he agreed, looking at Mori. Mori looked back and then nodded once.

"Maybe," the older boy allowed.

Satoshi beamed at him. "Great! Yasuchika and I'll be going now." He grabbed Chika by the wrist and dragged him along, protesting, behind him down the street.

In the moment of silence after they left, Kaoru grinned.

"Let's go to our house!" he suggested, gesturing to himself and Hikaru. "We can warm up and have hot chocolate."

"And sleep over!" added Hikaru, grinning madly. "Let's do it!"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose, sitting up. "I have no objections."

"Sounds like fun!" beamed Honey, hopping up. Mori followed, a little slower, and nodded.

"Yeah!" agreed Tamaki enthusiastically.

They looked at Haruhi. She shrugged and then nodded. "OK."

Both twins grabbed Haruhi and led the way there, bouncing excitedly. The rest followed, save for the strangers, who had resumed the snowball fight by themselves.

After a long time and many wrong turns, they finally ended up in front of a large manor house.

"This is our main mansion!" Kaoru told them proudly, grinning. "Come on!"

They went inside, and were almost immediately greeted by servants, who were in turn sent away to get lunch, hot chocolate, and towels.

"This way!" grinned Hikaru, gesturing down a hall and then proceeding to lead the way. They wound up in a living room, with a few armchairs and one very large couch.

Haruhi suspected that this was not an accident.

Soon, they were all settled on the couch, and each of them had their hands curled around a mug of hot chocolate. The servant who had brought them to them bowed. "Your hot chocolate, Kaoru-sama, Hikaru-sama."

Both of them looked at her, slightly dismissively. "Thank you, Yanu-san," they chorused boredly.

Haruhi tilted her head and smiled at her, though. "Thank you, Yanu-san," she echoed.

Yanu smiled back and then exited again, promising that lunch would be ready soon.

As soon as she was gone, Hikaru asked aloud, "What should we do?"

Haruhi shrugged and took a sip of her hot chocolate. She smiled a little, deciding that she liked it. And that it was really, really fancy. _Rich people…_

"I don't know," pondered Kaoru. "Maybe we should…"

"Play with our toy," they finished together, grinning evilly.

"Your toy?" puzzled Tamaki, looking at them.

Both of them sprang on Haruhi, who focused hard on not spilling her hot chocolate. "Haruhi, of course," they said in unison, rubbing their cheeks against hers. She sighed.

"I am not a toy," she informed them.

"We could play a board game," Honey suggested, swinging down from his vantage point on Mori's shoulders.

"What board game?" Tamaki asked, excited now.

A pause as they all thought.

"Monopoly," Mori finally rumbled. They all looked at him. Then most of them grinned. Even Kyoya got a glint in his eyes.

"Monopoly!" Honey cheered. The twins grinned at each other and rushed off.

They started to play, with Kyoya, naturally, as the banker. It was a while before they realized that lunch had, at some point, been brought in, and they started to eat it. Haruhi, while enjoying the food, grimaced.

She did not like Monopoly. She was also far worse at it than anyone else here.

It was hours later, or it seemed like it, when it finally was done, with Kyoya as the winner. Who was surprised?

Not Haruhi. Who was the first out.

"Hikaru, Kaoru."

The unexpected voice made both of them jump, along with just about everyone else in the room.

"Dad?" Kaoru questioned. "What are you doing here?"

The man, apparently their father, chuckled. "Well, you hardly ever bring friends over. I had to meet them."

Hikaru jumped up and instantly pointed out each person, introducing them.

"That's Kyoya, Tamaki, Honey, Mori, and…" Both he and Kaoru sandwiched Haruhi between them again. "Our beloved toy commoner Haruhi!"

"I am not a toy!" Haruhi complained. _Rich people…_

He chuckled again. "Well, it's very nice to meet all of you."

"It is nice to meet you as well, Hitachiin-san," Kyoya replied formally, making no indication that he intended to move.

Mr. Hitachiin's eyes ran over the group. "I'll make the call to their parents and make sure that they know where their children are," he chuckled, turning to walk away.

He wondered if Haruhi-chan's parents would approve of this.

Somehow, he doubted it.

Once he left, there was a brief, awkward moment of silence.

"We could play in the showroom," Kaoru finally suggested. Hikaru brightened.

"Yeah! And Mother will be pleased to have a lot of people to try on her children's line on."

Together, they finished, "Let's go!"

And that was how the group ended up in the showroom. Unsurprisingly, Haruhi had a lot more to try on than the rest of the group, being the only girl and so the only one who could wear the girls' outfits.

She wondered who wore them when she wasn't here.

"-and get that new shipment here faster, really, Nina-" The woman talking on the phone cut herself off to look at them. "Ah! Hikaru! Kaoru! You're here!" She frowned, looking a little surprised. "With friends? You never bring friends."

"You always say we should," they both reminded her.

She chuckled and, regardless of whoever may be on the other side, shut her phone. "So I did." She looked at one of the twins. "Well, Kaoru, why don't you introduce me?"

"I'm Hikaru, Mother," complained the twin she'd looked at.

"_I'm_ Kaoru," added the other, exasperated.

Haruhi tilted her head and regarded Mrs. Hitachiin with a slight frown. It was obvious, wasn't it? It was obvious which twin was which. _So why couldn't Mrs. Hitachiin tell?_

Mrs. Hitachiin chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, dears, you just look so very alike."

Both of them glowered at her. She jumped suddenly and then, with an energy previously almost hidden, whirled on the girls who had been having the small group of children trying things on. "You three! Have all the items been tried on?"

One of them nodded frantically. "Yes, ma'am, they're all good! Very good!"

She nodded sharply. "Good! Then you…" She paused to look over her shoulder and count the small group. "Seven. You seven go… do something." She flapped a hand at them dismissively. "Go on."

The group looked at each other, shrugged, and went back the way they came, retracing their steps back to the living room that they had first settled in.

"What _now?" _complained Hikaru.

"Maybe…" Tamaki mused. Then he snapped his fingers and grinned. "We could watch a movie!"

"Sounds like fun!" Honey beamed. Mori looked up at Honey and then nodded.

"Yeah."

"It could be interesting," Kyoya conceded.

"What do you think, Haru-chan?" Honey asked her, grinning and clinging to Mori's head.

Haruhi looked up at him, tilted her head, and then replied, "I'd like that."

The twins grinned together. "We'll go choose one!" they chorused. They grinned at each other and rushed from the room, while almost everyone else exchanged confused looks.

Long minutes passed and then they returned, Kaoru clutching a little DVD box. "Monsters Inc.," he said with satisfaction.

Tamaki's eyes widened. "Monsters? But what about Haruhi?" he protested, clutching at Haruhi fearfully.

Haruhi gave him a blank look. "I like Monsters Inc.," she informed him.

He deflated. "Oh."

Hikaru stole the DVD from Kaoru and popped it in, and they settled down – quiet for once – to watch it. Before long, dinner was brought in – and it didn't take long for people to forget whose belonged to who, since everyone _(everyone) _was stealing from each others' plates – and eaten, with very little attention paid to it beyond mentioned stealing, all eyes focused on the movie.

Haruhi was the first to leave the couch. She slid off of her seat between Hikaru and Tamaki onto the floor, laying on her stomach and resting her chin on her arms.

Only minutes later, the twins followed, Kaoru pressing close and leaning his head against her left arm while resting his chin against his own, while Hikaru did the same on her right. Not a word was spoken, but both of them grinned at her. She didn't notice, eyes intent on the screen.

Tamaki, predictably, was next, laying himself across Kaoru's legs so that his head and arms landed on the small of Haruhi's back. Kaoru twisted to glower at him briefly, but opted to ignore it, instead settling back into his previous position.

The next one came as a surprise, or it would have if they were paying attention. Kyoya slipped off of the couch and joined them, half-curling up close to Kaoru and angling himself just enough to continue to watch the movie as it played across the screen.

Somehow, it didn't seem to take up quite as much attention as before.

Haruhi's eyes started to flicker shut, her head lowering further onto her arms, and she let out a soft sigh. Both twins looked at her, but their faces split with yawns and soon they, too, were relaxing slightly, heads lolling. Kyoya's head drifted down against Tamaki's side and Tamaki yawned. His eyes, too, drifted closed.

Mori and Honey looked at each other. Honey smiled, and so did Mori.

Softly, quietly, they slid down beside Hikaru and soon they joined their friends in sleep.

Half an hour later, several servants came in, fully prepared to escort the group to bed. But the first one in jumped slightly, eyes widening, and then whipped around to turn to the others, pressing a finger to her lips. She gestured to the group in front of the television.

All of them had moved around a bit, and they were a mess of limbs and heads and a few torsos just barely visible. Sleeping faces rested against limp arms and boneless legs, and in the middle of the whole pile was Haruhi, breathing softly and evenly in sleep.

They smiled and turned around, a different task in mind now. They soon returned, armed with blankets and pillows, and the mess of limbs and heads became a mangled pile of blankets, pillows, and people, all carefully maneuvered so that not one of them so much as stirred.

One of the maids snapped a picture just before she left.

Because that's what it was; a picture-perfect moment.

* * *

**Now this was just plain fun. Well, I don't have a lot of time - and am publishing late AGAIN - so please, please review!**


	4. Causing Chaos

**A/N: I am SO sorry this took so long! I do have my reasons (read: excuses) but I'm sure you're not interested. So... go ahead!**

**Title: Snow Days**

**Author: liketolaugh**

**Rating: T**

**Pairings: None**

**Genre: Friendship**

**Warnings: Unlikely circumstances**

**Summary:**** The Host Club's first meeting - before it was the Host Club.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, OHSHC is not mine.**

* * *

Tamaki was the first to wake up, yawning. For a moment, he blinked, looking around in confusion. Then, slowly, a wide smile spread across his face.

Of course, it vanished when he realized that he was all tangled up in other people.

He looked up, or rather, bent his head back, and then beamed, seeing Haruhi's sleeping face nestled between the twins'.

"Haruhi!" he whispered. _"Haruhi!"_

Haruhi stirred slightly, accidentally waking the two boys beside her, and blinked her eyes open sleepily. "T'm'ki?" she mumbled, frowning at him. Her frown deepened when she realized their situation. Her brow furrowed. "Hm…"

In unison, each twin raised a fist and rubbed at one of their eyes tiredly. "Tamaki," Kaoru complained. "It's too early…"

"Yeah, go away, Tamaki," Hikaru agreed grumpily. "Go back to sleep."

Tamaki had just woken Kyoya, though, and was no longer paying attention to the twins. This, they realized quickly, was because a just-woken Kyoya was very scary.

"Tamaki," Kyoya growled dangerously, intimidating gray eyes looking at Tamaki with a glare of death.

Tamaki whimpered. Then he launched himself at Haruhi and wailed, "Haruhi!"

Haruhi yelped as Tamaki collided with her and clung there, crying. She shook him off and treaded over to a very _grumpy _Kyoya, and tentatively placed her hand on his arm.

"Good morning, Kyoya," she greeted quietly.

Kyoya glared at her, but she didn't move. After a moment, he dropped back down and let out a groan.

"Too early," he mumbled pathetically.

"Mm," the just-woken Mori agreed. Then he turned and shook Honey lightly. "Mitskuni. It is time to wake."

Honey let out a pathetic whine and cracked his eyes open to peer at Mori. "Takashi…" he growled halfheartedly.

"It's breakfast time!" the twins, who had woken up completely, chorused, grinning. Each of them grabbed one of Haruhi's arms and dragged her out the door, laughing. She sighed. _Rich people…_

In no time, they had reached the apparent dining room. Briefly, it occurred to Haruhi that, though they had now eaten two meals here, this was their first time eating in the dining room. Then she was sat down between the twins (much to the apparent chagrin of just about everyone else) and she forgot the notion as she stared blankly at the food-laden table in front of her.

Each boy, plus Haruhi, had been given a huge plate of food, each with a different assortment. Even the twins had different foods on their plates. Instantly, the boys began eating, and Haruhi just shrugged before following suit.

Tamaki was the one to start it, they would all later claim. He grinned at Kyoya and gestured at him maniacally with a piece of toast. "Kyoya, Kyoya, try it, it's good!"

Kyoya gave him a skeptical look before taking the toast and biting into it. He nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it is," he conceded.

He didn't give the toast back. Tamaki didn't ask for it.

Shortly after that, foods were suddenly being handed back and forth so that no one was keeping their original breakfast.

"Takashi! Eat this, eat this!"

"Hey, Haruhi-"

"-Try this one!"

"Try this, Tamaki, I think you'll like it."

"Mitskuni. It's sweet."

"Hikaru, I think you'll like this. And Kaoru, try this one."

To anyone looking in on them (such as the maids currently staring at them) it was pure chaos. But to them, it all felt somehow right, natural.

It was also kind of fun to alarm the maids.

But finally, all of the food was in a stomach, and the plates were empty, if not necessarily clean. For a moment, all of them just sat there, mildly confused as to why it had stopped. Then Honey broke the abrupt silence.

"So, what are we gonna do today?"

All of their minds easily switched to that track, and they thought about that.

"Commoners' stores?" Tamaki suggested finally.

That got a positive response from pretty much everyone but Haruhi, who sighed but agreed, if reluctantly. Once she did, they looked at her expectantly. Apparently, she was expected, as the commoner, to think of somewhere more specific for them to go. She sighed again. "Department store?" she suggested.

They agreed. Enthusiastically. And a plate or two may or may not have been broken when they did so. And then another when they stormed away in a cloud of chaos.

Haruhi led the way towards the one nearest, but tripped on something hidden in the snow, and she fell down into the drift. She frowned and looked down for a moment. Then an idea sparked in her mind and she turned over, starting to move her arms and legs back and forth. An awkward silence descended on the boys, which Kyoya eventually broke.

"Haruhi? What _precisely_ are you doing?"

Carefully, Haruhi sat up, and then climbed out of the mark she'd made in the snow. She pointed. "Snow angel."

They looked at it.

"It really does look like an angel!" Tamaki exclaimed enthusiastically. "The ingenuity of commoners!"

He flopped down into the snow himself and started flailing. When he stood, his did not look like an angel. He wilted.

Kyoya, though, set his notebook aside and laid down, much more carefully than Tamaki had, and was soon rewarded with a much better snow angel. He smirked at Tamaki, who flew into his corner of woe.

After that, all the people wandering the streets in that area found themselves unable to cross that particular section of sidewalk, littered as it was with flailing children.

When Kyoya finally pointed out that they _had _intended to go to the department store, only then did the boys reluctantly stop their snow angel-ing and continue on their way, chattering happily.

When they reached it? That was when the real chaos started. Because as soon as they arrived, the boys scattered.

Haruhi groaned and covered her face. Then she shook her head and started to go after them.

_"Whee! _Faster, Takashi, faster!"

She looked over to find poor, helpless customers scattering in the face of a vaguely amused-looking Mori pushing an ecstatic Honey along in a cart.

"Haruhi!"

She looked over to find the twins grinning at her from the end of a long trail of tomato sauce. Hikaru was holding the jar, while tomato sauce covered Kaoru's fingers. Haruhi would guess that it had been Hikaru's idea, but Kaoru was the one dabbing it artfully on the ground.

She looked down at the tomato sauce again. "It looks like blood."

Hikaru grinned. "Exactly!"

"It looks like someone bled all over the floor," she reiterated, wondering if they had actually understood.

Kaoru grinned. "Exactly!"

Ah. So that had been the intention. She looked at them, sighed, and elected to move past them without further comment.

"Come, en garde, good citizen! Let us do battle for the fair maiden!"

Tamaki was waving a long tube of wrapping paper at a confused-looking customer, who was looking at him warily. He was alone, no fair maiden in sight.

From this, Haruhi surmised that Tamaki was referring to her, and she went to remedy that immediately, stealing his roll of wrapping paper and returning it to its place. Then she returned to a dejected Tamaki and gave him a flat look. He wilted.

"Sorry, sir," she said apologetically to the man, who nodded warily and left in a hurry.

Haruhi dragged a dejected Tamaki behind her, then paused as she noted a Caution: Wet Floor sign. She let go, considered, looked at Tamaki, considered, picked up the sign, and moved it to a carpeted area.

Tamaki beamed at her.

She walked off, Tamaki scurrying after her, and they soon stumbled upon Kyoya.

Who was standing in a large cardboard box full of candy.

"Commoner's candy?" he offered them, holding out a Snickers bar, flanked by Honey (who was pouring in more candy) and Mori, and acting as casually as though it hadn't been his idea in the first place. "Honey bought it," he added at Haruhi's annoyed look. It didn't fade. He shrugged and made a note in his notebook.

They moved on.

At some point, Haruhi lost Tamaki, but spotted him later, darting about like a movie spy and humming 'Mission Impossible' loudly. She sighed.

Then she was abducted.

"Are you going to make a habit of this?" she inquired, looking at the two twins, who had hauled her on top of a shelf in the Fishing aisle. For some reason, Kyoya was with them too, now, looking at her expectantly.

Both of the twins grinned at her and nodded in unison, then Kaoru dutifully handed her a fishing pole. She looked at him blankly.

"Take it," he urged.

She sighed and took it.

Both twins produced fishing poles of their own, flinging the lines over and peering over, directing it as necessary to catch something. She followed suit, shrugging to herself.

When she reeled it in, she found it attached to a shirt. She stared at it blankly, then threw it back.

"Too small?" Hikaru quipped, grinning.

"Gotta throw it back," Kaoru agreed.

She didn't reply, but noted that the shirt had landed on someone's head, and that someone was looking around, very confused. She ducked back, blushing lightly.

"We caught Tamaki earlier," Hikaru whispered to her with a grin.

"By his shirt," Kaoru agreed, almost as wickedly amused as his twin.

Haruhi covered her face.

Kyoya, bearing a fishing pole of his own, complete with hundred dollar bill on the end, glanced at her and pushed his glasses up, hiding his expression. Both twins, though, grinned.

At that moment, Kyoya let out a quiet chuckle, peering over, and reeled in his line. A shocked cry and then an embarrassed groan beneath them signaled that he'd 'caught' someone.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and slipped off the shelf, landing neatly on her feet, and then strode to the middle of the floor, where she promptly laid down in the middle of the floor.

The twins and Kyoya stared at her in confusion. So did Tamaki, when he came around, stopping in the middle of another round of 'Mission Impossible' and Mori and Honey, pausing in their pelting people with jelly snacks.

They soon understood, though, when within minutes, people began to cluster around the 'sleeping' Haruhi, murmuring anxiously, staring at her.

"Brilliant," Kyoya murmured to himself, smirking.

"Didn't know she had it in her," Hikaru said in wonder.

Abruptly, Haruhi sat up, and gave all the gathered people her best puzzled look. In unison, they _all _jumped guiltily and backed away hastily. She smiled to herself, then up at the open-mouthed boys.

It was who-knew-how-long later, and the small group was in the camping aisle, setting up a tent. The store was in mass chaos, but they hadn't been confronted – yet. The employees seemed afraid to approach them. Very, very afraid.

But. About to attempt to set up the tent.

Tamaki was actually bouncing in place, beaming down at the jumbled mess of canvas and poles in front of him. "Haruhi, Haruhi! How do we set this up?"

She looked at him for a moment, then down to the mess, then back to him. She tilted her head. "I don't know."

He fled into a corner to mope.

The twins, on the other hand, darted to press on either side of Haruhi, grinning. "Let's find out!" they chorused.

Kyoya pushed his glasses up, made a note, and shrugged. "I would not be adverse to that."

"Let's do it!" Honey cheered.

"Mm," Mori agreed vaguely.

And they set upon the poor, crumpled little tent with all the enthusiasm of a pack of hyenas on their prey. Their cackling, the reason for this comparison, ensured that they were not disturbed.

It was Haruhi who untangled the poles from the canvas.

It was Honey and Mori, mostly under the direction of Kyoya, who correctly laid out the rumpled fabric.

But it was Tamaki who, upon his return from the Corner of Woe, worked out how to put the poles in their tubes.

And so they stood before the fully erected tent, very proud of their achievement.

It was at that moment that the twins, who had abruptly disappeared during the preparation, returned, bearing a variety of pillows and blankets, most likely from the Bedding department. Hikaru also carried two loaded water guns, resting innocently atop the mass of white sheets.

"Hey, you got it up!" Kaoru said brightly, drawing her attention from the colorful water weapon.

"Here," Hikaru added, shoving a pillow and a blanket at Haruhi. "They're yours. Keep them."

Haruhi received the bedding with a warm smile. "Thanks, Hikaru."

Hikaru grinned at her, ignoring the slight blush dusting across his cheeks.

Kaoru, meanwhile, carried some of the rest into the tent and dumped them unceremoniously on the ground, and Hikaru followed, doing the same. In the next moment, Haruhi ducked in after them, bearing her own prizes.

The rest of the little group was already inside, squabbling over the bedding, so she shrugged to herself and zipped the tent shut behind her.

When all the blankets and pillows were divided up, each person settled comfortably on top of their stack. And they began to talk – about anything, about everything. Every question someone could possibly think of, and some they couldn't, was asked and answered. Everyone was enjoying themselves more than they could have thought possible in a little tent set up in a store, but inside, it felt like they were locked away in their own little world.

Then someone unzipped the tent and poked his head in.

Hikaru's response was immediate, violent, and very, very like him.

He shot the man in the face with the water gun.

Well, now they knew what it was for.

When the man didn't leave fast enough, Kaoru followed up Hikaru's shot with his own, and the man hurried away, pursued by the angry boos of the boys and even Haruhi.

When, finally, he was gone, Honey huffed. "Intruder," he mumbled mutinously.

"Ah," Mori agreed, looking even more stone-faced than normal.

The twins glared at the closed door, Kyoya made a note in his notebook, and even Tamaki mumbled incoherently, shooting glances in the direction the man had gone.

But soon, the little commotion died off, and they went back to talking as though nothing had happened.

But, what seemed like a long time later, they started as a large man poked his head in the tent, prompting Hikaru to shoot him in the face. Which Hikaru did. With much glee, and a fair bit of prejudice (he was interfering, after all). The twins cackled together as he gasped and sputtered, face gradually growing redder and redder, and finally he roared,

"I've had enough of you crazy kids! Wrecking my store, terrorizing my customers, causing _chaos! _Out!" Catching sight of Haruhi's blushing face, he added, "I expected better of you, Haruhi!"

"Sorry, Manager-san," Haruhi mumbled, looking mortified.

And that was how they got kicked out of the department store.

Laughter rang out into the street as all seven of them tumbled out the double doors, pursued by various enraged employees.

Kyoya was the first to speak, pushing his glasses up, as composed as though he hadn't just been kicked out of a store for being chaotic. "So. What shall we do now?" He smiled, and honestly, it looked kind of scary.

"We're hungry!" the twins complained together.

Honey nodded vigorously.

Tamaki tilted his head and placed a finger on his chin in thought. Then he grinned. "Let's go to a commoner's restaurant!" he declared triumphantly, treating it like some grand idea.

Honey beamed. "Yeah!" Mori nodded once in agreement.

"Where do you recommend, Haruhi?" Kyoya inquired unconcernedly.

Haruhi tilted her head in thought for a moment, copying Tamaki's previous pose almost exactly. What place would be cheap enough for them to consider it a commoner's restaurant, but nice enough for them to actually eat? Then her eyes sparked slightly as she got an idea and she began to lead the way for the second time that day. The boys scrambled after her, chattering.

Finally, she located the place she was looking for, and pushed open one of the double doors. She let the others pass by her, and then reclaimed the lead, looking up at the hostess with a slightly tilted head. "Table for seven, please," she requested quietly.

The woman leaned over, concern gleaming in her eyes. "Sweetie, I don't think-"

Mori looked up and pinned her with a stony gaze. Kyoya looked up, too, grey eyes flashing behind the lenses of his glasses. He glanced at her nametag, and jotted something down in his notebook.

Once he had done that, he said, voice chilly, "I believe she requested a table for seven."

She looked startled, but honestly, even Haruhi had to admit that in that moment, Kyoya looked _intimidating. _"U-under what name?" she asked tentatively.

Kyoya hesitated for just a moment, considering. Well, considering her appearance, she was most likely to recognize… He glanced at Hikaru, who grinned wickedly.

"Hitachiin," Hikaru told her.

For a second, she froze, gaze darting to Hikaru, and then to Kaoru. Her eyes widened. "O-oh! Of course. Right away."

And they were rushed to a table.

There, a waiter was rushed over just as hurriedly, which none of the boys looked confused by. Haruhi rolled her eyes. _Rich people._

"M-may I take your order?" he stuttered, gaze shifting from person to person.

In unison, the boys leaned over their menus curiously.

"I want that!" Hikaru said almost instantly, pointing at one of the large dishes meant to be shared. Kaoru nodded quickly in agreement.

"That looks alright," Kyoya added, indicating another from the same section.

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna try this!" exclaimed Tamaki, brandishing the menu while pointing at _another _from that section.

"Hey, Takashi, let's get this!" Honey put in, pointing at another from a section Haruhi couldn't _possibly _guess. Mori nodded.

"Mm."

Haruhi looked from friend to friend, and then smiled wanly at the waiter. "I guess we'll be sharing a few things," she told him. He gave her an uncertain smile.

"Get something, Haruhi, get something!" Tamaki insisted, shaking her arm.

She sighed, looked again, considered, and then pointed to something.

From the share section.

She smiled.

"And to drink?" the waiter asked, seeming to gain confidence a bit.

As each boy, and finally her, placed their drink order (no sharing this time), Haruhi considered. And reconsidered. It was probably mean of her to take the boys here… eh. The staff would get over it. She looked at them again, and smiled warmly. They beamed back.

"Hey, Haruhi," whispered Hikaru, grinning. He pointed. "Look at that guy!"

She looked over, head tilted, looked, and then giggled.

The man had pink hair, was wearing a rainbow kitty shirt, and, most importantly, kissing a tablet.

Kyoya eyed him distastefully. "Stay away from him, Haruhi," he told her, before jotting something down in his notebook.

And so they started pointing out funny people – a woman holding her yipping dog like a baby, a man with a chicken, a child hanging upside down, anyone who looked the slightest bit amusing.

When the food came, they didn't bother tracking who'd ordered what, and eventually the guy gave up and set all of them in a circle in the middle, which suited them just fine. They started portioning it out, not necessarily for themselves, without even really thinking about it, and they just kept on talking.

They didn't even notice as people who'd been there when they came in filtered out, and new people were seated around them. Stories were told, complete with emphatic gesturing (mostly from Tamaki), jokes told, and even a few secrets admitted in whispers.

No one told them to leave. Well, not that Haruhi had noticed, anyway, though at one point (or two, or three) Kyoya _had _shot a sharp warning look at somewhere out of her sight, glasses flashing. She wasn't sure anyone else had noticed.

But the sun sailed through the sky, people came and left, and not a one of them acknowledged it. Not the passage of time, not the stares, not the whispers of confusion, they just laughed and smiled and, in the case of Hikaru and Kaoru, teased Tamaki.

Then, finally, it was dark, and the poor, brave manager of the restaurant had to approach.

"I apologize," he said formally, handling the small group better than anyone else had so far that day. "But the restaurant is closing; I'm afraid that I'll have to ask you to leave."

Kyoya was the one who finally, after a long moment, looked up from the current discussion of summer activities, and nodded once, grey eyes flashing in displeasure. "Fine." He turned, took a deep breath, and then said loudly, "Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru." Get them, and the rest will follow. "It is time to leave. _Now."_

His tone brooked no argument, and after a lot of groaning, they got up, complaining, and started to shuffle away. One or two yawns were stifled, and Kyoya glanced up at the manager again, slipped the necessary payment (and then some) onto the table, and followed after, smiling to himself, just a little.

"Just because pools are generally used in the summer doesn't mean that they cannot be used at other times," he called after them, following as they slowed for him to catch up.

The manager groaned, covered his face, and dropped into a chair.

"I have to go," Haruhi said finally, looking up to the clock.

Tamaki instantly threw himself at her, crying, _"Haruhi! _No!"

She pried herself free and stated, "Dad's probably worried. I should go."

Honey looked up at her with wide, tearful eyes and whined, "No!" He pouted for a moment, and then brightened. "Hey, Haru-chan! You'll come again tomorrow, right? We can go explore the commoner's mall!" Then, hopefully, "I'll bring cake!"

She looked at him, puzzled, and then nodded. "Of course," she said matter-of-factly.

They beamed.

When Haruhi arrived home, it was to a father who was slumped on the couch, moaning to himself.

"Dad," she called dispassionately. "I'm home."

He was up and on her in a moment. "Haruhi! Oh, Daddy was so worried, Haruhi, why did you go off like that, staying all alone with those nasty boys-"

Haruhi sighed.

* * *

**Whee! More fun! Less pure sugar, I think, but a lot more humor, and then some friendship. Or, you know, a lot of friendship, and huge, massive quantities of bonding. Hope you liked it! Please review!**


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